My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

Share progress on your 356 related project or full restoration with others!
Message
Author
User avatar
Steve Harrison
356 Fan
Posts: 3301
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:39 am
Location: Auburn AL

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#16 Post by Steve Harrison »

Dan,..I'd suggest going over to the projects section and checking out a few of the longer threads in there where guys have done a lot of the same stuff you are facing. Rusty Wiley and Justin Rio's threads are excellent.
By the way,...Rusty clear coated his unpainted car for a true outlaw look. Crazy? : ) Maybe,...but it really does look cool.

Dan Epperly
356 Fan
Posts: 1139
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 4:35 pm

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#17 Post by Dan Epperly »

Steve Harrison wrote:Dan,..I'd suggest going over to the projects section and checking out a few of the longer threads in there where guys have done a lot of the same stuff you are facing. Rusty Wiley and Justin Rio's threads are excellent.
By the way,...Rusty clear coated his unpainted car for a true outlaw look. Crazy? : ) Maybe,...but it really does look cool.
I will Steve, thanks for the advice.
I have one question for the experts on the rear script (PORSCHE logo and "60" badge). Are the pins held in with a clip or just the pressure of the holes in the metal? Reason I ask is that my car has a double set of holes drilled in it. One set is off center and slightly smaller. I need to figure out which ones to weld up, I am assuming the smaller off center ones, but I am thinking they did it because it grabs the pins better?

User avatar
Dave Wildrick
356 Fan
Posts: 1953
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:10 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#18 Post by Dave Wildrick »

Dan Epperly wrote:
Steve Harrison wrote:Dan,..I'd suggest going over to the projects section and checking out a few of the longer threads in there where guys have done a lot of the same stuff you are facing. Rusty Wiley and Justin Rio's threads are excellent.
By the way,...Rusty clear coated his unpainted car for a true outlaw look. Crazy? : ) Maybe,...but it really does look cool.
I will Steve, thanks for the advice.
I have one question for the experts on the rear script (PORSCHE logo and "60" badge). Are the pins held in with a clip or just the pressure of the holes in the metal? Reason I ask is that my car has a double set of holes drilled in it. One set is off center and slightly smaller. I need to figure out which ones to weld up, I am assuming the smaller off center ones, but I am thinking they did it because it grabs the pins better?
The pins are supposed to be held on by clips on the back of the sheet metal hole. Good luck on reaching up there with a clip to do that, although it can be done, using long skinny pliers, etc.
Alternatives to the clips include placing a dab of silicone rubber on each stud before placing in the holes. Others have suggested using thin strips of stainless steel foil bent into a U-shape placed into the hole with small "ears" preventing the U from falling out. Pressure from the studs keeps the emblem in place.
On my 64C coupe, only the tension of the studs in the holes keeps the "Porsche" logo from falling off. Been that way since I bought the car in 1976.
Dave Wildrick
Houston, TX
#10230
64C coupe
65C coupe

User avatar
Dave Wildrick
356 Fan
Posts: 1953
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:10 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#19 Post by Dave Wildrick »

Another good way to reattach the emblems was posted by Alan Klingen almost exactly 10 years ago:

[Subject: Re: [356Talk] Porsche Emblem
Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2004 19:44:52 -0800

I also have very "manly" hands. What I do is to attach the clip with some
body putty, or clay, on the ring end of a 6 or 7 mm wrench and then use that
to drive it home. What you also want to do is pre-bend the script so it fits
nicely to the body.
Sincerely,
Alan,
The Stable, San Francisco
thestable@356car.com
415-776-2707]
Dave Wildrick
Houston, TX
#10230
64C coupe
65C coupe

User avatar
Bill Oldham
356 Fan
Posts: 405
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:29 am
Location: Maui, HI (also Orinda, CA)
Contact:

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#20 Post by Bill Oldham »

RE : Attaching Scripts, Emblems.
When the original "grabber" clips behind the sheet metal are no longer there, there are many ways to cope. I suggested another way some time ago in another forum topic, specifically using screw-on plastic nuts. Thead the posts on the emblem, and use large, easy to deal with, plastic nuts to clamp... its pretty straight forward to spin on a 1 inch diameter "nut" even in the tight confines of the body-frame gap in the rear. My original post:
Re: Speedster/Convertible D. Dash EmblemPostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:25 pm
"The threaded posts on my dash emblem inspired me to thread the "porsche" and Super 90 scripts for my Drauz roadster (which had missing retainers behind the rear sheet metal)
i considered 3mm but the posts are just a bit large for that and I did not want to break one! So I threaded them 5-40 - torque to thread felt OK. For "nuts" i just cut some ~ 15mm dia X 5mm disks from knurled nylon stock, with disks relieved on one side (sort of built-in washer-spacer). Again tapped 5-40. Its easy to reach up and turn these on by hand. Its nice to be able to remove scripts for polishing/waxing."
I will attempt to insert here a crude sketch of the "nuts" (They are round, but I knurled the outer diameter of the nylon rod before cutting them out)
Attachments
IMG_3549.jpg

User avatar
Jim Liberty
356 Registry Member
Posts: 4313
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 3:47 pm
Tag: Jim
Location: Orange Co., CA
Contact:

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#21 Post by Jim Liberty »

I'd like to buy a couple of dozen of these Bill.

.............................Any chance, Jim.
Jim Liberty

jim hasbrouck
356 Fan
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:33 pm
Location: billings mt

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#22 Post by jim hasbrouck »

Finally, a chance to maybe be of some help. For attaching the script, I have found that using what I was told were called barrel fastners is the easiest and quickest solution. They are a little clip that inserts into the hole from the top side and then the post on the script slides into the clip. There are little barbs on the clip that hold it in the hole and more barbs that hold the stud in the clip. They come in different sizes for both the size of the hole and the size of the stud. The ones I have are Balkamp and readily available at your local NAPA dealer. The part numbers on the two sizes I have are: 665-1915 and 665-1342. Hope this helps someone. Jim
 

jim hasbrouck
356 Fan
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:33 pm
Location: billings mt

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#23 Post by jim hasbrouck »

follow up::: I think the smaller clip 665-1915, must be the size I used ,as I only have a few of them left. Good luck. Jim
 

User avatar
Spencer Harris
356 Fan
Posts: 1149
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:39 pm
Location: San Joaquin Valley, California

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#24 Post by Spencer Harris »

Dan Epperly wrote: The worst of it is the front collision damage. The car was hit in the front, causing the front fenders to buckle. They did not straighten them out before they welded in an original donor nose (this was 1973 remember) preserving the buckle. They also didn't repair the crumpled battery box area. The nose donor was overlapped and the metal pounded in to create a trough which was brassed in and then filled with about 1/2 inch of bondo.
Oy vey.
Anyway, I have restored many a VW, many far, far, far worst than this, but its a 356, and I originally thought I better let someone else do the metal and body work, but after seeing the carnage, I'm thinking, screw this, I'm doing it myself.
My plan of attack is to finish stripping the car. I then need to slice out the nose, replace the wrinkled up battery box/spare tire well, straighten the front fenders, adjust the gaps, then weld the nose back in. Try and pound/pull the various dents adn then take it from there. Because they planned on restoring the car in '74 and thanks to various parts buys I have a lot of NOS stuff for the car so it should be nice when done. My intent is to post all my updates and either boor you or providing schadenfreude type entertainment for the experts.
Dan,
I can't remember if you saw my '58 in the shop last summer or not. It had been punched in the nose pretty good and the interior trunk panels had been cut and pieced together to remove the wrinkles. No surprise the battery box was a mess too. Pete Perez fabbed jigs to mount onto his frame alignment machine and we found the passenger side 1-3/4" shorter than the driver side. He has since "pulled" the chassis square to within factory tolerance of +/- 4mm.
I suggest you take some measurements of your chassis and make sure everything is square before attempting panel replacements. Chassis schematics and measurements are in the workshop manuals for the specific series (pre, A, B or C). I have the schematics for pre A and A cars, but nothing later. If you don't have a workshop manual for a B car, someone should be willing to scan and post for you.
Good luck with your project!
DSC_0497.jpg
Attachments
DSC_0496.jpg
DSC_0837.jpg
Last edited by Spencer Harris on Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Spencer Harris
San Joaquin Valley, CA.

Dan Epperly
356 Fan
Posts: 1139
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 4:35 pm

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#25 Post by Dan Epperly »

Hi Spencer,
I was thinking about you when I stripped mine and saw the carnage.
I don't think the hit was enough to alter the frame as there is no wrinkling in the trunk area with the exception of the panel that the right bumper bracket is welded to.
I do have a factory manual and will check the measurements, but I am not sure where I measure from? I guess it probably says in the manual so I will check it out.
Sounds like some progress is being made on your car. Do you have a build thread going on it??

User avatar
Bob Kelly
356 Fan
Posts: 56
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:23 pm
Contact:

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#26 Post by Bob Kelly »

Spencer,

Could you take a picture of the front end where the frame jig mounts to the body? I have a chassis in need of some support, see avitar.
Bob Kelly
62 Hardtop
66 912

User avatar
Spencer Harris
356 Fan
Posts: 1149
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:39 pm
Location: San Joaquin Valley, California

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#27 Post by Spencer Harris »

Bob Kelly wrote:Spencer,

Could you take a picture of the front end where the frame jig mounts to the body? I have a chassis in need of some support, see avitar.
Bob:
This is the front mount for the ’58 cab in the alignment jig. Note, this mount is only used for measuring – not for pulling the chassis.
DSC_0842.jpg
A more secure method of front mounting is the method we used on the ’53 cab in a rotisserie.
IMG_0407.jpg
IMG_0406.jpg
Additional details at
http://www.porsche356registry.org/356talk/1/34544.html
Spencer Harris
San Joaquin Valley, CA.

Dan Epperly
356 Fan
Posts: 1139
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 4:35 pm

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#28 Post by Dan Epperly »

Been too busy working on cars to post my progress, so here goes:

The rear end of the car had a substantial amount of light damage, small dents, some minor rust holes, stress cracks and the pressing for the back up light was mostly gone and had been constructed out of bondo by someone. I hammer and dollied many of the dents out as best I could and pulled others with my stud welder. I shaped the pressing with the hammer and dolly, and later welded up the hole you see.

Image

At this point I had to decide the best course of action. Some guys are metal wizards and can take this can of walnuts and make it perfect in metal, some guys would hack it out and weld in aftermarket metal, other guys lacking the metal talents of Vulcan and yet want to keep the car as original as possible work the dents out and use a skim coat of filler to smooth it out. I am one of those guys.

Image

Look Ma, the magnet sticks! (Souvenir from Pompeii)

Image

The roof also had issues, a bunch of light to medium dents. Again, I worked them out best I could and smoothed out with a thin coat of filler.

Image

Image

After much sanding, I coated in epoxy primer.

Image

Image

Then it was off to the dreaded nose. The car had been punched pretty hard and someone straightened out the spare tire well with a sledge hammer. I had to cut out all the metal and weld new panels in, using the much derided flux welder, but it is what I am used to and I see no need to change out. Stuck in my ways I guess.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Recently I cut the left fender off and will straighten it out, weld it back on and then hope the nose clip fits without too much hassle. Stay tuned.

User avatar
Steve Harrison
356 Fan
Posts: 3301
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:39 am
Location: Auburn AL

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#29 Post by Steve Harrison »

Absolutely DO NOT be ashamed in any way about a skim coat. Far more cars (just about all?) get done that way than the highly touted "all metal" bodywork restoration. Yes,...some get that treatment, but I've talked to a bunch of bodymen who will admit, sometimes openly, sometimes as an aside, that 'if that stuff had been around in 19(fill in the year) they'd have used it for sure!'
I love the restoration thread you see on the net that show a car being worked on in bare metal and then all of a sudden, viola!, it appears in primer, then in finish paint. Everybody 'forgets' to show that middle stage, haha.

You've made great progress, and you're now in what I call "the bowels" of the restoration. Momentum and enthusiasm are key here,...do whatever you have to do to maintain both! Sometimes it's just good to look through old photos and see where you started and how far you've come. And you've come a ways...
: )

Dan Epperly
356 Fan
Posts: 1139
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 4:35 pm

Re: My first Porsche 356 project. Am I nuts or what?

#30 Post by Dan Epperly »

Steve Harrison wrote:Absolutely DO NOT be ashamed in any way about a skim coat. Far more cars (just about all?) get done that way than the highly touted "all metal" bodywork restoration. Yes,...some get that treatment, but I've talked to a bunch of bodymen who will admit, sometimes openly, sometimes as an aside, that 'if that stuff had been around in 19(fill in the year) they'd have used it for sure!'
I love the restoration thread you see on the net that show a car being worked on in bare metal and then all of a sudden, viola!, it appears in primer, then in finish paint. Everybody 'forgets' to show that middle stage, haha.

You've made great progress, and you're now in what I call "the bowels" of the restoration. Momentum and enthusiasm are key here,...do whatever you have to do to maintain both! Sometimes it's just good to look through old photos and see where you started and how far you've come. And you've come a ways...
: )
Thanks Steve. I also like those welding to primer pictures that give the illusion no plastic was used. Almost like a magic trick. Not to say that there are not guys who can pull it off without using filler, but my sense is they are far and few in between and charge a lot of money for that ability as they should.

Post Reply